One More Thing
by AwesomeMcGeeofCaledonia
Summary: One-Shot: The nightmare is over, and Norman Jayden is ready to go back to Washington D.C.; he just has one more stop to make before he can put it all behind him.


**HEAVY **_**RAIN **_

One More Thing

Written By: AwesomeMcGeeofCaledonia

Rated T+ for Some Strong Language and (Fictional) Drug References

Disclaimer: Heavy Rain is owned by Quantic Dream; the events referred to in this story are based on events in Heavy Rain, which was written by David Cage. I own nothing.

Quick Synopsis: A one-shot of the events after Heavy Rain; Norman Jayden has one more thing on his agenda before he makes his return to Capitol Hill.

XXX

Saturday

8:37 A.M.

6.012 inches

Norman Jayden finished his brisk walk up the rusting flight of steps. Feeling the chill of the morning and the cold moistness from the heavy rain falling overhead, Norman drew his jet-black jacket tighter around his body.

_You think it's cold now, just wait 'till the holidays_, Norman thought to himself. _Paperwork, more paperwork, and most likely pneumonia._

Despite the dire urge to be in a warm bed, a smile played across Norman's face; just the night before, he and two other strangers had single-handedly stopped the murderer known as the Origami Killer. One of those strangers was about to get a visit.

Rubbing his hands together, Norman looked up at the doors he had been passing, all numbered.

_ Where's the magic number? Room 204, gotcha'!_

Raising his hand to the door was a lot more of a hassle than Norman had expected it to be; he hadn't even noticed how sore his entire body was.

_For a man of his age, Shelby really could kick some ass, _he thought, wincing at the aching in his entire upper body.

Looking past his pain, he switly knocked on the grime-stained door, and then retracted his arm.

Would he even still be here?

After what seemed like an eternity, the store opened just a crack. A slightly-bearded man, who looked like he'd been through the darkest depths of Hell, peered out through the crack at Norman.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, cautiously.

_Ah, hello Ethan._

"Uh, I believe you can," Norman said with a smile. _He must not recognize my face... _ "I'm Norman Jayden, FBI; I just wanted to ask you a few questions regarding the case of the Origami Killer."

With a sigh, Ethan opened the door all the way, and motioned for Norman to walk in.

Norman quickly stepped inside, and was instantly hit by a sharp stench; blood. Or at least remnants of it.

_No time to feel sick, _he told himself. _When you feel sick, you use Tripto; not anymore, not ever again._

Ethan closed the door, locked it, and then walked over to the single bed in the cramped area. On it lay his son, Shaun Mars, asleep. Ethan sat down on the bed, next to Shaun.

_After all that's happened with them, I doubt Ethan will ever leave Shaun's side again._

"So, what in particular did you want to ask me?" Ethan asked Norman, his voice almost a whisper.

Taking a deep breath, Norman looked around for a chair of some sort; he found a rather comfortable looking one by the door. Carefully and quietly, he took a seat, stretching out his legs.

Mimicing Ethan's tone, he began, "Well Ethan, maybe 'questions' was the wrong word for me to use... rather, I just want to say that I'm happy you have your son back. Whenever I got assigned to this case, I was afraid it was a hopeless cause; eight kids dead and no leads? I didn't think Shaun had good odds."

Ethan's gaze fell to the floor; Norman could sense that he was thinking of a million "What If?" scenarios.

"The day you were inside of the Marble Street apartments... I was parked outside, waiting for you to come out. I told myself and my... "partner" that you were not the Origami Killer, despite the man-hunt for you. I didn't believe that a father such as yourself was capable of such things. It looks like I was right."

"You never suspected?" Ethan asked, his gaze returning to meet Norman's. "At first, I... even I thought I was killer."

Norman shook his head.

"I had my initial thoughts, but after just a few moments of _actual _thinking, I knew without a doubt in my mind that you were innocent."

Ethan looked over at Shaun's sleeping form. A smile spread across his face. He reached out, and ran his hand through Shaun's brown hair.

"You know," Ethan started, the grin never leaving his face. "I was afraid I'd never see him again. I thought I was going to die before I made it to the end of that bastard's trials."

"Trials?" Norman asked.

Ethan shook his head. "It's a long story."

There was silence.

_What else is there for me to say? I've said what I felt I needed to... _

"That woman, the journalist," Norman's voice trailed off slightly. "Madison Paige; where'd she go?"

Ethan returned his hand to his side, but kept his eyes on Shaun.

"She went back to her apartment to get some things..." Ethan informed him. "She's going to be moving in with me and Shaun until we can find ourselves a new home... for all of us."

"So, I take it she's your girlfriend?" Norman asked Ethan, his eyebrows raising.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "I guess you could say that."

A beeping noise pierced the air.

"Shit," Norman exhaled. He lifted his wrist and stared down at his watch. 8:45 A.M. it read. He turned the alarm on his watch off, and looked back up at Ethan. "I gotta get going."

Norman stood up, attempting to hide the pain he felt in performing the action.

"You alright?" Ethan asked, noticing Norman's trouble.

"Me? Ah, I'll be fine." Norman assured him. "I'm more worried about you and Shaun."

Ethan smiled, appreciative of Norman's caring nature. "We'll make it."

Norman nodded. He raised his finger up as if saying, "Just a second." He reached into his jacket's left-inner pocket, and pulled out a card. It contained all his contact information.

"If you ever need somebody to talk to, or just feel like making some small-talk, you can call me anytime," Norman said, handing Ethan his card. "I can't promise to get back to you at lightning-speed, but I'll sure as hell try."

Ethan laughed, and swiped the card from Norman's hand. "I'll keep that in mind." Ethan tucked the card into his back-pocket.

With a quick salute, Norman slowly turned around, and headed for the door.

"One more thing," Ethan blurted out, extending his arm toward Norman.

Norman turned around to face him, half-expecting Ethan's next words.

"I never... I never said thank-you, for helping out.. for trying to find Shaun," Ethan stammered.

"It wasn't a problem," Norman assured him, heading once more for the door. He unlocked it, turned the handle, and swung the door open, a gust of cold wind blowing in. Norman stepped outside, and quickly closed the door.

He stared out at the courtyard from over the railing. This rain was really starting to annoy him.

_Doesn't matter now, _he thought. _I'm on a one-way trip to D.C. This rain will all just be apart of one fucked-up memory by the time I get home._

Taking one last look at the door to "Room 204", Norman made his trip back to the rusting flight of stairs.

_First thing when I get back, _he thought, pulling out his pair of FBI-issued A.R.I. glasses; he threw them to the ground, and smashed them beneath the sole of his shoe, _Flush all my Tripto._

XXX

A/N: During the course of Heavy Rain, I was hoping that Ethan and Norman would connect on a much more personal level, and develop what could potentially become a best-friends thing... instead, they had very few words to say to each other (Under Arrest), and were only in the same area maybe four times. In my story, I ignored the events of "Under Arrest", as on my first play-through, I got through the game without getting arrested at all; this is why Ethan doesn't know who Norman is in this fan-fic (as I said, they almost didn't talk at all in the game). Well, if you would, please review my personal epilogue to Heavy Rain, and hell, tell me if you'd like to see some more in the future. Heavy Rain easily became one of my favorite games of all-time, and writing a fan-fic just seemed natural. Thanks everyone.

-AMGC


End file.
